It’s time for another card battler, and this one features a lot of popular cartoon characters, particularly those from so-called “adult” series. Animation Throwdown is a new iOS and Android game from Kongregate, and it comes with hundreds of characters from Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers, Futurama, American Dad, and King of the Hill, as well as moments from those shows’ popular episodes. The game allows you to collect character cards, improve your deck, and string together new combos, with the stakes quite high and the “fate of the world (resting) in your hands.” So if you’re a fan of those aforementioned animated series, and also a fan of card battlers or trading card games, this title should appeal to you.
In terms of this game’s mechanics, this TCG is more casual and less intense than your average game in the genre. But as is the case with other TCGs, there is a steep learning curve, and a whole lot of things you have to consider if you’re aiming to consistently beat your opponents and build the best deck possible. So read on and join us, as our exclusive Animation Throwdown strategy guide will give you all the tips you need to succeed, especially if you’ve just started playing the game.
1. Buy Packs ASAP
As you play Animation Throwdown, you will earn more in-game money, and as we’ve observed so far, the only thing you can buy with your coins is card packs. And it makes perfect sense – in a TCG, you always want to improve on your deck, and the best way to do this is by acquiring more cards, typically through card packs. While it is advisable to start buying cards the moment you can afford to buy one, it may be a better idea to wait till you’ve earned 5,000 coins. At that time, you can select the “Buy All” option while on the Card Packs menu. That will allow you to buy five cards instead of the standard one pack, and while it’s far from a rock-solid guarantee you’ll get a better chance of earning rare cards, the chances do seem to go up.
2. How To Upgrade Your Cards Properly
In order to have a better deck, you need to upgrade your cards regularly. But you also need to upgrade them the right way. By tapping on the card and hitting on Upgrade, you can upgrade all of your deck’s cards, but it’s smarter to upgrade individually rather than in bulk. You can take the rare cards that you have and upgrade them first, though in the early goings, you probably wouldn’t have too many rares to your name. You can also include one particularly good common card in the initial batch of cards to upgrade; many believe Fry from Futurama is the best choice among the commons.
Once you’ve isolated those rares (and one common) and upgraded them, you’ll want to save the big upgrades for a time when you’ve gotten more cards added to your deck and have gotten a better feel for the game. It’s an all-too-common mistake for players to upgrade cards they won’t be playing too often after all, and you want to avoid this by also taking a wait-and-see approach when upgrading.
3. Research New Combos
Animation Throwdown is one of those TCGs where one of the primary mechanics is stringing together combos. But that’s where the hard work comes in, as there are a whole lot of potential combos to string together and play, and you’re going to have to figure them out first by researching them. We suggest researching two combos at a time, and doing so whenever you can. The best way to do this is by researching all the possible combos involving rare cards; playing two rares in a combo is, of course, much more effective than playing two commons together. You can start your research on the common card combos if you’ve got a lot of time on your hands.
4. Remember The Most Powerful Combos And Play Them
Aside from researching on new combos, you should naturally play the most powerful ones and string them together in battle. Always keep in mind the combos you researched and remember the best ones, so that once a game begins, you know what to do and know which cards to play. Most of the combos in this game provide some buffs such as armor, or allow you to counterattack. And since those things can be game-changers and tide-turners, you should play the cards in the combo the right way. You don’t want to waste a combo on a situation where you don’t need it too much, so remember the cards involved in the combo and the things they can or cannot do, in order for you to play them smartly.
5. Tips For Building The Best Possible Deck
Moving on to the deck-building aspect of Animation Throwdown, there are several things you should be doing to ensure you’ve got the best and most powerful deck possible. First, and most important of all, you should work on keeping your best cards in your deck, and make sure you play those cards at the right time. Keep those top cards of yours upgraded, and max them out for better stats. Have a good number of cards you can use to string together combos; once again, these can turn the tide in battle and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. And as a bonus tip to that one about combos, research on combos by considering the cards specifically in your deck.
It is also important that you study decks you are having a hard time beating, and think of ways you can beat it the next time around. And last, but not the least, make sure your deck has a good balance of cards with high attack and high health ratings, as you’ll need your share of high-powered cards and tanks for an improved chance of winning.
6. Don’t Worry About AI Opponents
You know what we always say about artificial intelligence not being too intelligent, and sticking to basic and obvious strategies? You’ll be glad to know that that’s the case with the AI in Animation Throwdown. A lot of your wins will have luck helping you out, but it really isn’t too hard to outsmart the AI in this game, which can be a good thing for you, and a good way to practice against human opponents.
7. Grind For Stars In Adventure Mode
As a backgrounder on how the chapters in Adventure Mode work, each of them comes with three stages, and you’ll have a chance to play each stage thrice before you get the most stars available. And whenever you win one of those stages, you’ll unlock new cards and get them as a reward for your victory. That means you have to replay those stages as often as possible and win those replays; grinding for stars can be a good way for you to earn more rare and legendary cards and give yourself a deck worth writing home about. And as a bonus tip, tap on the TV icon to watch an ad video, as that could improve your odds of getting better rewards.
8. Play A High-Health, High-Damage Card First
Normally, tanks in RPGs and TCGs cannot be expected to deal out a whole lot of damage in battle, but rather stand out for having a lot of health points and being hard to take down. But there are also tanks that can carry their weight on offense, and it’s those kinds of cards that are best to play first in a battle. After playing that card, you can then move on to a new one, but not a combo just yet, then string your combo together in the third by playing it on the first. That would allow your first card to last longer and get some much-needed stat boosts.
9. It’s All About The Combos
Although the above order of playing your cards can help you in most cases, your success in card battles will mainly be based on how well you play those combos, or how well your opponent does the same. Always think one move ahead and consider the cards you’ll be playing on the next turn. Think of where you’re going to place a new card, and what combos you plan to string together next. Remember that your objective is to deal damage against your opponent and take out as many cards of theirs as possible, while keeping your own cards going for as long as possible.
In addition, you want to have a card advantage, because that will greatly improve your chances of winning, and when it comes to getting that advantage, it should be easier than usual as you will always be making the first move. But if you look at the big picture, proper playing of combos will be your best friend and the best way to win more card battles in Animation Throwdown.
